From Rome to the Renaissance and beyond: an Italian’s Perspective

Marina Del Negro Karem (Spalding University)

In this paper I discuss how I utilize my Italian nationality as a pedagogical tool in my art history class, with a particular focus on Roman art and architecture. I use the students’ relative familiarity with Italian culture as it is constructed in America (through movies, books, food etc.) as an entry point to the less familiar eras of the Renaissance and ancient Rome. Conversely I demonstrate how their understanding of ancient Rome and the Renaissance can help them detect and decode a strong Italian presence in American culture. This backward and forward movement in history hopefully informs the students’ appreciation of art, and culture in general.

My paper presents a number of comparative illustrations that I use in the classroom. It also features two specific examples of my teaching technique: when speaking about Renaissance funerary monuments, I demonstrate the many similarities (in the details of ornamentation, inscriptions and effigies) between ancient Roman and Renaissance tombs. Once I have established this connection, I proceed to illustrate to the students the many examples of Neo-classical architecture in this country, particularly in the public and commemorative monuments of Washington D.C. They are able to identify and critique the strong parallels between the political architecture of the nation’s capital and Roman imperial monuments. Smaller scale cultural comparisons also capture the students’ attention: the small round cookies called “Fave dei Morti” (Fava Beans of the Dead) trace back to the ancient Roman custom of throwing a handful of Favae behind one’s back in order to ward off evil spirits at a burial site. From birth (the importance of the family name and lineage) to death (the societal pressures for the up-keeping of family tombs and effigies of dead ancestors), I trace a continuous cultural line that runs from Rome and the Renaissance to the Italian diaspora and the strong influence of ancient and modern Italy in the States.